Name meanings
A page for analysing the meaning behind the names of Fillies. While every name has a meaning, many Filly names are clearly references. This page is not for all names, however. For example, while it will be no coincidence that the love-struck poet Filly is named Romeo, "Bianca" is unlikely to be a reference to the titular character's wife in Othello. As that reference doesn't relate to her character at all, it is likely she is named "Bianca" because the name means "white" and she is. An exception to this rule would be if a set of Fillies had a less-obviously themed set of names (e.g. if the Fillies living in a flower-themed house all had non-English words for flowers as names). Christmas * Angel Filly: "Weihnachtsengel" is the angel of "Weihnacht", the German term for the Christmas season. The character was also released as Christmas Angel, which makes the origin quite a lot more obvious. * Butterfly Filly: Chris can be a shortening of both Christmas, Christian and Christ. Given the Christmas theme of the set he was released in, all of them are feasible options. ** Angel Filly: Most of the same points can also be said about Christine. * Butterfly Filly: Julia is, given her Christmas theme, a variation of "Jul", the modern Scandinavian word for Christmas and derived from Yule. * Butterfly Filly: "Lucia" is the Italian name of Saint Lucy, the celebration of which is a part of the Nordic build-up to Christmas. * Princess and Unicorn Fillies: Noélle and Noëlle are variants on "noel", the French term for the Christmas season. * (Ice) Witchy Filly: Holly is a tree species, the leaves and berries of which are decorations associated with winter and Christmas. Famous phrases * Princess Filly: Fabian is a term for being cautious, slow (sometimes strategically so) and avoidant of confrontations. * Witchy Fillies: "Abra" and "Cadabra" make up "abracadabra", a famous stage magician phrase that was historically believed to have healing powers. ** Similarly, their pets' names "Hocus" (owl) and "Pocus" (raven) create the similar phrase, "Hocus Pocus". Literature * Fairy Filly: "Caspian" is a name from C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian (from The Chronicles of Narnia). It is likely inspired by the Caspian Sea. * Fairy Filly: "Melian" is one of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth characters. ** "Luthia" may be a reference to Melian's daughter, Lúthien, although the two Fillies are seemingly unrelated. ** "Thori" may similarly be a shortening of "Thorin" (a character from The Hobbit), although it is also a variation of "Thor" (the Norse god's name). * Witchy Filly: Alice is the name of the main character from Alice in Wonderland. While the name didn't originate there, the Filly Alice is a hopeful writer of literature. Mythology: British * Fairy Fillies: ** "Elvin" means "elf", which may seem like it would be be more apt for an Elf Filly, but elves are a type of fae (fairy) in mythology. ** "Faye" is one of the various variants of "fairy". ** "Pixie" refers to pixies, small and mischievous humanoids. The term can be used synonymously with "fairies" although some myths distinguish between them. ** "Puk" is likely a variant of "puck", mischievous fairies/demons/sprites. Puck is also a character in A Midsummer Night's Dream, as two of the Fairy Fillies are named after. * Witchy Filly: "Merlina" is likely a nod to Merlin, the famous Arthurian sorcerer. * Witchy Filly: "Morgan" is likely a nod to the female name, which is a modern variant of Morgen, the Arthurian sorceress. The Welsh masculine name (which comes from "Morcant") is not related to mythology. Mythology: Egyptian * Unicorn Fillies: "Isis" is a fertility goddess in Egyptian mythology. Mythology: Germanic * Fairy Filly: "Nixie" are a type of shapeshifting water spirit in Germanic mythology. Mythology: Greek/Roman * Fairy Filly: "Apollo" is a Greek god of light, healing, the sun, and more. * Mermaid Filly: "Calypso" is the name of the female nymph who captured Odysseus with her singing and kept him captive for years after. * Mermaid Filly: "Neptune" was the Roman god of the sea (Greek name "Poseidon"). * Mermaid Filly: "Venus" is the Roman goddess famous for being born from sea-foam and is often depicted on a seashell. Her Greek equivalent is Aphrodite. * Star Fillies: As they are largely named after constellations, the Star Filly names (found below in the "Night" section) include many references to Greek/Roman mythology. * Unicorn Filly: "Gaia" is the Greek goddess who is the personification of the Earth. * Unicorn Filly: "Iris" is a Greek goddess of the sea and sky. She is the personification of the rainbow and a messenger of the gods. * Unicorn Filly: "Nox" is a variant of "Nyx", the Greek goddess of the night. Mythology: Hindu * Unicorn Fillies: "Ashia" was the wife of a demi-god. Mythology: Judeo-Christian * Witchy Filly: "Baltazar" is the name of one of the three wise men who visited Jesus in the nativity story. Mythology: Norse * Elf Filly: Eira is derived from "Eir", the name of the Norse goddess of healing. * Fairy Filly: "Thori" is a variation of "Thor", the Norse god of thunder, strength, healing, and more. ** Beach Party Filly: Same goes for Thor as well. * Princess Filly: "Freya" is a version of Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, sexuality, beauty, gold, war, and more. * Unicorn Filly: "Loki" is the name of the Norse trickster god. Mythology: Russian * Butterfly Filly: "Frost" is a reference to the Father Frost fairytale, since the other three in his family are already references to winter or Christmas. Mythology: Worldwide * Mermaids: Along with aquatic names, the Mermaid Fillies have a variety of music-related names, likely related to the mythological mermaid's association with singing to lure sailors to their deaths. ** "Calypso" is likely also a nod to this as, though the (female) nymph was not a mermaid, she trapped the hero Odysseus with the help of her singing. *** "Nemo" means "Nobody", a pseudonym used by Odysseus while escaping a cyclops. ** "Merrow" are a Scottish/Irish Gaelic variant of mermaids. ** "Nautilus" comes from Greek meaning "sailor", the main targets of mermaids (although it may simply be another of the aquatically-themed names with no reference to mythology intended). ** Nerida means "sea nymph". ** "Sirena" means "enchanter" and is linked to the sirens: humanoids (often part fish and/or bird) that have a lot of overlap with mermaid legends. * Unicorns: A couple of the Unicorn Fillies' names are references to unicorn mythology. ** An "Oryx" is an antelope that some believe may have helped inspire the unicorn myths. ** "Karkadan" is likely a reference to the Karkadann, a mythical creature from India/Persia often thought of as a Persian unicorn. "Kargadan" means "rhinoceros" in Persian and Arabic, a sign that (like the mythological "monoceros" and quite possibly the unicorn itself) the legends were inspired by rhinoceroses. Night * Star Fillies: Based largely on constellations with some other star and night-time references. ** "Afrodite" is a variation of "Aphrodite", a goddess from Greek mythology, whose Roman counterpart is Venus, after whom a planet is named. ** "Aquarius" is a constellation/zodiac sign (the water-bearer). ** "Aries" is a constellation/zodiac sign (the ram). ** "Asteria" is from "aster" (Greek for "star"). ** "Astro" is a prefix meaning "star". ** "Capri" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Capricorn (the goat). ** "Cara" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Cancer (the crab). ** "Cassiopeia" is a constellation named after a queen from Greek mythology. ** "Gemma" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Gemini (the twins). ** "Hermia" is a variation of "Hermes", a god from Greek mythology, whose Roman counterpart is Mercury, after whom a planet is named. There are also hymns calling Hermes a bringer of dreams and a night-watcher. *** "Hermia" is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but that character's name was also derived from Hermes' and the character herself seems to have no connection to night/sleep. ** "Hypnia" is a feminine-sounding variation of "hypno" (a prefix meaning "sleep"). ** "Leon" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Leo (the lion). ** "Libra" is a constellation/zodiac sign (the scales). ** "Lyra" is a constellation (the lyre). ** "Nikita" has no obvious star connection, but "Nicken"/"Nickerchen" means "nap"/"snooze" in German, so it may be another sleep-related pun. ** "Phoenix" is a constellation. ** "Pisca" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Pisces (the fish). ** "Saga" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Sagittarius (the archer). ** "Scorpio" is a constellation/zodiac sign (the scorpion). ** "Siria" is a feminine-sounding variation of "Sirius" (the brightest star of Earth's night sky). ** "Tauria" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Taurus (the bull). ** "Virginia" represents the constellation/zodiac sign Virgo (the virgin). ** "Zodia" is derived from "zodiac". Pop Culture * Elf Filly: "Ronja" as a German and Scandinavian name derives from the lead character of the Astrid Lindgren novel Ronia the Robber's Daughter, written in 1981. * Witchy Filly: "Sabrina" is the name of the main character in the Sabrina the Teenage Witch franchise. Shakespearian * Fairy Fillies: ** "Titania" is the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In it her husband is Oberon. ** "Oberon" is the king of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although he was written about as such in medieval literature, his being married to Titania marks this name as a Shakespearian reference. ** "Puk" is likely a variant of "Puck". This may both refer to mischievous fairies/demons/sprites (pucks) and to Puck, a character in A Midsummer Night's Dream. * "Hermia" is a character in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but that name was derived from "Hermes" which is probably the case for the Star Filly of the same name (the Star Fillies have a star/night naming scheme). * Unicorn Filly: "Romeo" is the lovestruck male in Romeo and Juliet. That the character is a poet is likely a reference to Shakespeare himself. Translation Some of the Filly names seem fairly simplistic, e.g. Broom, the Witchy Filly, and Memory, the Mermaid Filly with a good memory, but those are not German words and so to the German audience they're not so plain. To use those two examples, "Besen" the Witchy Filly and "Speicher" the Mermaid Filly would not seem so straight-forwardly named to those who don't speak German. * Elf Filly: Although "Wika" is a name (a variation of "Vika", short for "Victoria"), it's likely used for the Tricky Elf Filly as a reference to "Wicca", the religion associated with witches. * Fairy Filly: "Schulfee" is a conjunction of the two German words "Schul-" (School, in an imperative tense) and "Fee" (Fairy). * Princess Filly: "Diva" is derived from an Italian noun meaning "goddess". * Unicorn Filly: "Nieva" is a variation of "Neva" which means "snow", apt for the ruler of the ice island. * Unicorn Filly: "Varita" means "wand" and this character is usually depicted with one. * Witchy Filly: "Fleur" is a French term for a blooming flower, often also used as a term for a kind favor. Category:Just For Fun Category:Mixed topic